| Plant Category | : | Herbs |
| Melghat's Flora's Serial No. | : | 501 |
| Synonym | : | Arisaema gracile Kunth, nom. superfl.;
Arum gracile Roxb., nom. superfl.;
Chaitaea tacca Sol. ex Seem.;
Tacca abyssinica Hochst. ex Baker;
Tacca artocarpifolia Seem.;
Tacca brownii Seem.;
Tacca brownii var. paeoniifolia Limpr.;
Tacca dubia Schult. & Schult.f.;
Tacca gaogao Blanco;
Tacca hawaiiensis H.Limpr.;
Tacca involucrata Schumach. & Thonn.;
Tacca involucrata var. acutifolia (H.Limpr.) H.Limpr.;
Tacca maculata Zipp. ex Span., nom. inval.;
Tacca madagascariensis (H.Limpr.) H.Limpr.;
Tacca oceanica Seem.;
Tacca phallifera Schult. & Schult.f.;
Tacca pinnatifida J.R.Forst. & G.Forst.;
Tacca pinnatifida f. obtusata Limpr.;
Tacca pinnatifida subsp. interrupta Warb. ex H.Limpr.;
Tacca pinnatifida subsp. involucrata (Schumach. & Thonn.) H.Limpr.;
Tacca pinnatifida subsp. madagascariensis H.Limpr.;
Tacca pinnatifida var. acutifolia H.Limpr.;
Tacca pinnatifida var. brownii (Seem.) F.M.Bailey;
Tacca pinnatifida var. paeoniifolia Domin;
Tacca pinnatifida var. permagna Domin;
Tacca pinnatifolia Gaertn.;
Tacca quanzensis Welw.;
Tacca umbrarum Jum. & H.Perrier;
Tacca viridis Hemsl.;
Typhonium gracile Schott, nom. superfl.; |
| Plant Common Name | : | Fiji Arrowroot, batflower, East Indian arrowroot, Polynesian arrowroot, Tahiti arrowroot, Bagh-moochh, devkanda, devkanda, cenai, kakanam, kattu-k-karunai,adavidumpa |
| Plant Family | : | Taccaceae |
| Description | : | Several petioles 17–150 cm (6.7–59.1 in) in length extend from the center of the plant, on which the large leaves (30–70 cm or 12–28 in long and up to 120 cm or 47 in wide) are attached. The leaf's upper surface has depressed veins, and the under surface is shiny with bold yellow veins. Flowers are borne on tall stalks in greenish-purple clusters, with long trailing bracts. The plant is usually dormant for part of the year and dies down to the ground. Later, new leaves will arise from the round underground tuber. The tubers are hard and potato-like, with a brown skin and white interior. |
| Plant Location in Melghat | : | In Koktu valley |
| Medicinal Use / Activity | : | Raw tubers were eaten to treat stomach ailments. Mixed with water and red clay, the plant was consumed to treat Diarrhea and dysentery. This combination was also used to stop internal hemorrhaging in the stomach and colon and applied to wounds to stop bleeding. |
| Plant's Phytochemicals | : | COMPOUNDS: phytic acid; ACTIVE COMPOUNDS (0): |
| Plant's Current Status | : | Rare |
| Plant's Cross Database Reference | : | 259142 |
| Reference | : | Dhore M. A. (1984) The flora of melghat tiger reserve
- https://indiabiodiversity.org/species/show/231299
- http://www.flowersofindia.net/catalog/slides/Fiji%20Arrowroot.html |
| Reference | : | ~ Dhore MA and Joshi PA; "Flora of Melghat Tiger Reserve"; Directorate, Project Tiger, Melghat (1988); PMID : ~ S.D. Jagtap, S.S. Deokule and S.V. Bhosle; "Some unique ethnomedicinal uses of plants used by the Korku tribe of Amravati district of Maharashtra, India"; Journal of Ethnopharmacology (2006); 107: 463-469 PMID : |
| Kingdom | : Plantae - Plants |
|---|---|
| Phylum | : Tracheophyta |
| Subkingdom | : Tracheobionta - Vascular plants |
| Superdivision | : Spermatophyta - Seed plants |
| Division | : Magnoliophyta - Flowering plants |
| Class | : Liliopsida - Monocotyledons |
| Subclass | : Liliidae |
| Order | : Liliales |
| Family | : Taccaceae - Tacca family |
| Genus | : Tacca J.R. Forst. & G. Forst. - tacca |
| Species | : Tacca leontopetaloides (L.) Kuntze |